Terms Used In Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code 42.001

  • Counterclaim: A claim that a defendant makes against a plaintiff.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Deposition: An oral statement made before an officer authorized by law to administer oaths. Such statements are often taken to examine potential witnesses, to obtain discovery, or to be used later in trial.
  • Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.

In this chapter:
(1) “Claim” means a request, including a counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, to recover monetary damages.
(2) “Claimant” means a person making a claim.
(3) “Defendant” means a person from whom a claimant seeks recovery on a claim, including a counterdefendant, cross-defendant, or third-party defendant.
(4) “Governmental unit” means the state, a unit of state government, or a political subdivision of this state.
(5) “Litigation costs” means money actually spent and obligations actually incurred that are directly related to the action in which a settlement offer is made. The term includes:
(A) court costs;
(B) reasonable deposition costs;
(C) reasonable fees for not more than two testifying expert witnesses; and
(D) reasonable attorney’s fees.
(6) “Settlement offer” means an offer to settle or compromise a claim made in compliance with Section 42.003.

  Previous section
Next section  
 Chapter 42 Contents